Nick Nolte is brilliant as a cop as maverick as he's crooked, who takes it upon himself to gun down an underworld figure. So district attorney Patrick O'Neal charges his inexperienced assistant Timothy Hutton with the investigation, hoping that he'll wrap up the case neatly and quickly. Director Sidney Lumet's awesomely snappy, gritty thriller is an edge-of-seat ride that takes no hostages.

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